An Open Letter: Thank You

I hope you are having the best of days, I truly mean it. Taking every moment for what its fully worth is hard sometimes–we generally tend to overlook the tiny things in life that matter. However, for once I stopped rushing through the days and took a moment to really take in what was happening around me.

The everyday mundane tasks that I deemed as insignificant suddenly seemed to grasp my attention. As I took a moment to absorb everything happening around me, I was in awe. Let me tell you, my perspective has completely changed.

To the track team, I should really start appreciating you more. My coaches and teammates have stolen a big part of my heart and I would not have it any other way. To have a group of 60 or so teammates that have become more like a second family is one of the absolute best feelings in the world, and I should never take that for granted.

In two very short years the track will simply be a memory to me. How scary is that? I’ll be left to only wish I could toe the line with my teammates one more time, feeling terrifyingly alive with pre-race adrenaline. No one will be yelling “Knees up, move your arms, go!” it will be just me and and the empty turf oval.

To the college classes that I almost always want to sleep through, let’s be realistic here. Some of this material I will probably never need at a later point in my life. But, as I watch the seconds tick by on the clock I realized I should really just take it for what it’s worth. John Carroll, your core classes sometimes seem like the root of evil. But, I should be glad to get the amazing opportunity to learn what I otherwise would not have glanced twice at. In any case, whoever said broadening my horizons wasn’t a good idea?

To the people that mean the most to me in my life, how did I get so unbelievably lucky to call you one of mine. I would never want to imagine a day that goes by without seeing your beautiful faces. As morbid as this may sound, none of us are guaranteed to see another sunset (or sunrise, if you’re an early bird). Truly appreciating the relationships that have been intertwined into my everyday life has become not only the biggest joy in my existence, but also the biggest blessing.

It has taken me 20 years to truly understand that the littlest things in life that truly bring us the most joy. The simple day to day activities I overlooked now seem so amazing to me, alive with an undying spark of excitement. Those 7,300 days led me to believe that happiness lies within yourself, it might just take us some time to realize that.